Sports Illustrated is bang on!!

Toronto Raptors — Final grade: D+ | Record: 30-48, No. 10 in the East

Midseason grade: C- | Midseason record: 15-27, No. 11 in the East

Is Andrea Bargnani still on the roster? (Yes.) Did Bryan Colangelo really trade for Gay thinking he would make them appreciably better? (Yes.) Was Kyle Lowry’s first season in Canada full of more red flags than initially expected? (Yes.) Are there perhaps four contracts on the books that would be worth amnestying if it were legal? (Yes.) Did DeMar DeRozan try to shame John Hollinger for predicting Toronto would win 33 games, only to put up a below-average PER for a team that will win no more than 34 games? (Yes.) Do the Raptors, who are missing the playoffs for the fifth straight season, at least have a lottery pick to look forward to? (No, unless they land in the top three.) Does anyone expect management to answer to the realities behind this silly list of rhetorical questions that could go on all day? (Nope!) Did Terrence Ross win the Slam Dunk Contest? (He sure did, and it wasn’t too bad. Let’s agree to focus on that one.)

Is Andrea Bargnani still on the roster? (Yes.) Did Bryan Colangelo really trade for Gay thinking he would make them appreciably better? (Yes.) Was Kyle Lowry’s first season in Canada full of more red flags than initially expected? (Yes.) Are there perhaps four contracts on the books that would be worth amnestying if it were legal? (Yes.) Did DeMar DeRozan try to shame John Hollinger for predicting Toronto would win 33 games, only to put up a below-average PER for a team that will win no more than 34 games? (Yes.) Do the Raptors, who are missing the playoffs for the fifth straight season, at least have a lottery pick to look forward to? (No, unless they land in the top three.) Does anyone expect management to answer to the realities behind this silly list of rhetorical questions that could go on all day? (Nope!) Did Terrence Ross win the Slam Dunk Contest? (He sure did, and it wasn’t too bad. Let’s agree to focus on that one.)

D+ is way to low. I'd say C+ considering the crazy up and down season we had, and the horrid start

I don't think D+ plus is way to low. In fact I don't see it as low at all. From the start of the season Casey and the organization stated that the goal was playoffs. Even if they get ahead of Philly for the ninth spot, they were never really in playoff contention. (Except, maybe right after the Gay trade until they lost to the Bucks.) Also, how does shitting the bed at the start of the season warrant giving them a better mark? If the score was just for the final 1/3 of the season, then yes it should be higher, but I'm pretty sure that it's for the full season. I tried to find the article, but it wasn't linked and I couldn't find it on their site. If there is a link, would someone post it?

"We only have one rule on this team. What is that rule? E.L.E. That's right's, E.L.E, and what does E.L.E. stand for? EVERYBODY LOVE EVERYBODY. Right there up on the wall, because this isn't just a basketball team, this is a lifestyle. ~ Jackie Moon

Is Andrea Bargnani still on the roster? (Yes.) Did Bryan Colangelo really trade for Gay thinking he would make them appreciably better? (Yes.) Was Kyle Lowry’s first season in Canada full of more red flags than initially expected? (Yes.) Are there perhaps four contracts on the books that would be worth amnestying if it were legal? (Yes.) Did DeMar DeRozan try to shame John Hollinger for predicting Toronto would win 33 games, only to put up a below-average PER for a team that will win no more than 34 games? (Yes.) Do the Raptors, who are missing the playoffs for the fifth straight season, at least have a lottery pick to look forward to? (No, unless they land in the top three.) Does anyone expect management to answer to the realities behind this silly list of rhetorical questions that could go on all day? (Nope!) Did Terrence Ross win the Slam Dunk Contest? (He sure did, and it wasn’t too bad. Let’s agree to focus on that one.)

Pretty much what i've been saying all year.

Can someone re-tweet this to Demar DeRozan to show who the real clown is and hopefully he uses this as a motivation to work on his D, ball handling,3 point shooting ,and calling people names when he cant back it up 0.o

I would say C+ simply because everyone found out JV isnt a wasye nor a joke, the kid is legit talent at a rare position in todays game. Bad start to end the season respectable playing around 500 ball since Gay acquisition. We Got Rudy Gay on the team for very little, which brings an even better outlook for next season.

C+ would have been fair imo D+ is looking at the negatives too much I think but you know there are a TON of negatives.

Especially, because JV wasn't really a surprise. Sure, it was great to see his improvement, and he and amir are the only two bright spots on the roster, BUT it wasn't like he was a sleeper. Even before the season started he got his buzz, and a lot of people said that if they redrafted he would have been a top 3 pick for sure, which means, for me he alone isn't enough to bump up the grade.

"We only have one rule on this team. What is that rule? E.L.E. That's right's, E.L.E, and what does E.L.E. stand for? EVERYBODY LOVE EVERYBODY. Right there up on the wall, because this isn't just a basketball team, this is a lifestyle. ~ Jackie Moon

Did the SI story studiously ignore anything positive? (Yes) Did Amir Johnson continue to progress as a top PF/C, greatly outplaying his contract after many pundits criticized BC for signing him? (Yes) Did Valanciunas show the potential to be a top-flight C in the NBA? (Yes)

There is no doubt that the Raptors roster has problems, but I think that if they get good consistent coaching from DC it has much more potential than many are anticipating. Perhaps the most disappointing thing about last year was BC's failure to pull the trigger on a Bargnani trade before his injury and disastrous return. I think they might be stuck with using Bargnani next year and seeing if he can bounce back and improve his trade value. He certainly will be a better bench option than any of the other dross available on the roster.